Blacklist
by Inertial Deathlock
Summary: Some hunt for treasure. Some hunt for exotic animals. Jin hunts people.
1. Chapter 1

Blacklist Hunter

Blacklist Hunter.

Jin didn't like how that title sounded; it gave his job such a negative connotation. He preferred "bounty hunter", but that wasn't completely accurate either. He tried to think of something more descriptive and accurate, but just couldn't. He sighed. Blacklist Hunter it is.

He wasn't a pro hunter, having never got around to taking the exam. Potential clients were often skeptical about his abilities due to this fact, but he still proved his worth by never failing to complete a job. He was, however, interested in the information available on the Hunter site and the advanced access a license would give him. He had been fine at the beginning of his career, but now, with targets of higher and higher profile, it was almost impossible to complete them with only civilian authority (his last catch was only due to dumb luck, as he spent most of his time in a restricted area. Thank God that both Jin and the man frequented the same bookstore. It had been quite a mess).

He was going to head off to take the exam in two weeks, so Jin was already preparing. He was practicing on a heavy punching bag when a ding! sounded from his computer. He gazed at the screen. There was a message for him.

From: X

Subject: 100,000,000 Jenis

Under that was a picture of a large man, extremely tall and muscular. On the bottom of the picture _Reinforcement_ was written, along with the charges: murder, arson, robbery. His last known location was there, plus his name: Rodimmo Janzi. The bounty wasn't huge, but it was nothing to sneeze at either.

Jin smirked and shook his head. He knew which of his clients it was. He had told him how cliché the pseudonym "X" was, but he never listened. He frowned somewhat when he saw the man's Nen type. While it was fun to take down Reinforcement-types, he was always concerned about their Hatsu.

_No sense worrying about it_, he thought. He grabbed his coat and went to his closet to pick out weapons. Despite the money he made from his job, he lived in a medium-sized apartment in Yorkshin. He grabbed his pair of bladed Tonfas (he'd taken them off a Reinforcement-type who had thought he was hot stuff) and grabbed his pistol (custom-made as part of a bounty agreement by a client).

_No better way to get ready for the exam than to prepare for what comes after_, he thought as he slipped out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

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Ch. 2: The Game

It wasn't terribly difficult to find Rodimmo. Jin's client had sent the bounty rapidly, so the scene was still fresh: a museum with many pieces stolen and almost burnt to the ground. Jin saw a few chalk outlines around bloodstains, indicating where the victims had fallen. There were no gunshot wounds; it looked like they'd been beaten to death (likely, since Rodimmo was a Reinforcement-type and they generally liked using their fists). The lack of subtlety indicated that his Rodimmo wasn't the smoothest criminal around. He had seen enough robberies to know exactly where his bounty had gone. He picked up his cell phone and dialed.

A car was parked outside the pawn shop, the plates matching what his associate in the police force told him. There was blood on the inside, but that was to be expected. Two voices could be heard arguing inside the shop.

"Are you kidding me?! Do you know what I had to go through for this stuff?!"

"I'm telling you, it ain't worth more than five hundred million Jenis!"

"Bull! This is worth at least a billion!"

"Look, I know this stuff's dirty. I ain't takin' it for any more than what I'm offering!"

"Give me one billion or I'll show you first hand what I went through to get this."

Jin watched through the window as Rodimmo punched a hole through the wall. He decided it was about time to intervene. He walked around the building and through the hole, clutching his head and stumbling.

"Whad'ya think yer doin', punchin' a hole in da wall like dat! I wuz sleepin' over there on dat wall, an' you had to go an' break it!" Jin said in a very slurred sentence.

Roddimo's jaw dropped. He didn't want any witness, no matter how drunk they were. He brought back his fist and used Ko. Like this, his punch could dent a tank. He lunged forward and swung, aiming to decapitate the drunk.

Jin clutched his stomach and bent double, just in time to avoid the punch. Rodimmo's knee rose up to meet his chin, but Jin fell over backwards, causing his opponent to hit nothing but air. Frustrated, Rodimmo tried to stomp on his chest. Jin didn't even dodge; he just grabbed the foot and twisted it 180 degrees.

Rodimmo screamed in pain. He was stunned; how did this drunk catch the kick? He had enough Nen in his foot to hit like a sledgehammer, yet he shrugged it off with ease! No matter; thanks to his Hatsu, this guy wouldn't stand a chance no matter how strong he was.

"You think you've won?! Come and get it, punk!"

Jin decided to look him over with Gyo. His eyebrow arched up as the guy's aura slowly increased. He noticed that, oddly enough, his opponent was putting weight ON his destroyed foot.

"That's my ability, 'Payback'! For every bone of mine you break, every tendon you snap, every muscle you rip, I get stronger! Ready to give up?"

Jin understood; he was trying to break MORE bones in his foot to augment his strength.

"Quit talking, nitwit. Show me what you've got."

Roddimo launched himself forward, once again going for a punch to the face, only to have it caught. His eyes widened. This guy must have insane aura! A stronger Reinforcement-type than he!

"That's it? Come on, I've seen cripples that hit harder than you," jeered Jin.

"What are you?! A Reinforcement-type?! How did you do that?!"

"Just answered your own question, idiot," Jin said as he dealt a sharp blow to the man's neck, knocking him out.

Of course, that was a complete lie. If Roddimo had been smart enough to use Gyo, he would have noticed that Jin actually had only an average amount of aura, may even less. He also would have noticed that the punch that had been caught had no Nen in it.

Jin lifted the man onto his shoulder and walked out. He pulled out his cell phone as he tossed some money to the shop owner, who was hiding behind his desk.

"Thanks for stalling him, Ken."

"Any time, Jin. You still owe me lunch, anyway."

Jin smirked as he dialed his client. Like he would ever pay off THAT debt.


	3. Chapter 3

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Ch. 3: Preparing for the Exam

Jin was bored. He'd gotten his reward, but just couldn't decide what to do with it. He hadn't gotten any jobs and there weren't any significant bounties open to the public. He decided to just spend his time training and preparing for whatever the exam could throw at him.

He had a few friends who had taken the exam; apparently, it changed every year. The only constant was that it was enormously taxing, both physically and mentally. He ramped up his normal training regiment, taking 20-mile runs around the city, beating on punching bags for hours at a time, and practicing with each of his myriad weapons.

After the two weeks, he went off to find the exam. He had thought about bringing his pistol, but he wanted to maintain his record of no kills. Instead, he brought a massive scythe, more than six feet long, concealed beneath a cape on his back. He had forged the thing himself one day when he had been bored. He was capable of precision cuts and could use the metal handle as an effective bludgeon.

The airship ride on the way to the exam site was rough. It seemed like the pilot was intentionally running into the most turbulent areas he could find. All but three of the passengers ended up being dropped off and abandoning the exam for that year. The only ones left were Jin, a young woman, and a large, brutish man. Jin had spent the time in the turbulence reading a book he had packed for the trip, a thriller novel featuring a Nen-capable serial killer. The woman had thumbed through a magazine while the large man meditated. After the kindly pilot landed near the exam site and gave them the date and time of the exam, Jin walked over to the two others.

"I'm Jin Kuroken. Nice ta meet'cha. What're your names?"

"Helena Jennis," replied the woman.

"Arozin Luddu," said the man.

Jin didn't pursue the topic further. The three walked silently in the direction the pilot had indicated.

As they approached an alleyway, they noticed two men being mugged. A man stood behind them, armed with a pistol. The single mugger looked up and spotted the three approaching. Jin tensed up, Helena pulled out a pair of brass knuckles, and Arozin crouched into a fighting pose.

"Don't move another inch. No matter how fast you are, somebody's going to die. You can just walk off and pretend you didn't see anything, and they just might live. Or, you can just tell me which one you want to save, and I'll just kill the other one. You've got 10 seconds to decide," said the mugger.

Jin glanced at his two compatriots. It was obvious that they also understood. He'd been in enough situations to recognize a too-convenient situation. Even so, there was no guarantee that the men would survive; the Hunter's Association was notorious for this sort of thing. He made his decision and gestured towards his comrades.

Before anyone could react, Arozin threw a monster punch at the air. The mugger was somehow sent flying, even though the punch didn't touch him. Jin rushed to secure the hostages while Helena charged the robber, whose impromptu flight was rudely interrupted by the wall.

While Jin checked the men for injuries, he heard a loud bang from behind him. Right above the mugger was a large indentation in the wall, still smoking. Helena sneered at the terrified man.

"Just remember, I missed on purpose."

The mugger smiled.

"Not bad, not bad. You guys are definitely good enough to take the exam. Follow me."

The two "hostages" also got up and introduced themselves as members of the Hunters Association.

As the group of six walked along, Jin turned to his companions.

"So, how long have you known Nen?"


	4. Chapter 4: Let the Exam Begin!

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Ch. 4: The Exam Begins

Arozin turned and looked at Jin.

"I've only known Nen for a few years. I made it to the 200th floor of the Celestial Tower and was baptized."

He took off his shirt, revealing several brutal scars along his chest and back.

"I won eight matches, but ended up losing four. I have been going from place to place, trying to find a teacher, but have not found any masters, just ones who are barely familiar with Nen."

Jin nodded. It made sense; his attack on the examiner was a basic Emission move, albeit a strong one. Looking over Arozin with Gyo confirmed it; he had a fairly large amount of aura, even without training. He could be dangerous in a few years.

"I've been training in Nen for about 10 years now," piped Helena. "I've been doing some odd jobs since."

Jin raised an eyebrow.

"So what can you do?"

"Sorry, that's a secret," she giggled.

Jin looked her over. Mid-20s, long brown hair, fairly pretty. Might even be…

He shook his head. Exam now, fantasies later.

The group walked for around fifteen minutes before arriving at a small building. The three examiners indicated that they should enter.

"Good luck. The exam's in here."

As they walked in, they were escorted underground to a surprisingly large room, filled with an innumerable amount of candidates. An examiner handed them each a pin: 334, 335, and 336. A small man walked up to them and extended a hand.

"This must be your first exam. I'm Tompa. Nice to meet you!"

Jin tentatively shook his hand.

"I've taken this exam more than 35 times! Trust me, it isn't gonna be easy!"

Jin was surprised at the number, but noted that he seemed unusually enthusiastic.

"I'd tell you about the guys who are regulars at the exams, but…there aren't really any this time. Last time, some kid took out every single one of us. Most of 'em didn't come back."

Jin's sources had told him about that. There had only been one winner the previous exam. Tompa then pulled out four sodas.

"How about a drink to celebrate our friendship?"

Another of Jin's sources was about to warn him about regulars, but Jin had shrugged him off. It was better experience to figure people out without prior knowledge. It was obvious that this guy was up to something. He graciously took one of the cans, as did Helena and Arozin. Tompa was about to take a sip when Jin grabbed his can.

"I think I like the looks of this can more. Looks better."

Tompa started sweating as Jin handed him the can he had yet to open.

"Well? Gonna drink it or not?"

"S-sorry, I…uh…not thirsty…uh…" Tompa stammered.

"Nonsense! Have a drink!" shouted Jin.

With that, he opened the can Tompa was holding and forced it into Tompa's mouth. He gagged as the entire soda went down his throat. As soon as Jin released him, Tompa clutched his stomach and sprinted for the bathroom.

Number of Competitors: 335

Eliminated: 1

A man stepped out from a door on the opposite end of the entrance. He was fairly short, with a shaved head and a suit and tie.

"Welcome to the 289th Hunter Examination. My name is Hines and I'm the first examiner. As you may be aware, this exam takes place much earlier in the year than normal. Since most of you likely excel at spotting lies, I will tell you the true reason why: we are dreadfully short on combat-ready hunters. There has been an incident in East Goruto that has killed many of our best."

The examinees began to murmur amongst themselves. Jin just nodded. Just as he had been informed.

"This exam will be short, but particularly brutal. The first test is…"

He spread his arms out wide.

"…to hit me. All you need to do is give me a cut, bruise, or broken bone, and you pass this exam."

Many of the examinees started chuckling. This was going to be easy.

A huge man, wielding a club, stepped forward. He rushed at Hines, swinging the club. It was a fairly obvious feint. Hines ducked, then flipped the man over as the attacker aimed a knee at him. He crashed to the ground, but immediately got up and prepared another attack. Hines shook a finger at him.

"Sorry, one shot. Good-bye!"

The man walked away dejectedly, not wanting to jeopardize his future chances.

Several more people lined up for a shot. Helena was about to join them, but Jin grabbed her. Arozin joined them, and they had a group huddle. They agreed on a strategy, then stepped back to watch the show.

The first man in line, an average-looking man, charged at Hines, who sidestepped, tripped him, and rammed his elbow into the man's back. As he went down, the others gaped.

"Oops, guess I forgot to mention that I can hit back," he said innocently.

The next man was more cautious. He slowly approached Hines, who did not move an inch. As the examinee got close, he suddenly launched a kick at Hines' chest. Hines grabbed the leg and bent it the wrong way. The snapping of bone was like a gunshot, the man's resulting scream only slightly louder. Two other examinees helped carry him out.

For most of the remaining fighters, it went like this, Hines occasionally dealing out permanent damage. A few managed to land blows, often from the use of exotic weaponry or fighting styles. Even fewer were Nen-capable fighters, managing to deal out frontal damage. Jin observed each and every one with Gyo, and cataloged what he saw.

After a couple of hours of beatings, Hines looked no worse for the wear. Bloodstains surrounded him, only a couple of drops his. Jin and his accomplices were the only ones remaining. Only 52 had managed to make it through. Jin finally asked the question nobody else had been smart enough to ask: "If a group teams up to hit you, do all of them pass?"

Hines nodded.

"I've been waiting for someone to ask that. The answer is yes."

Jin grinned. He turned and gave Helena a thumbs-up. She jumped towards Hines, brass knuckles in hand. Hines crouched; he knew a good fighter when he saw one. Instead of hitting him, however, Helena slammed both her fists into the ground. Hines' confusion lasted only a second before an explosion obscured his vision. He immediately used Gyo, just in time to see a Nen-blast coming at him. He couldn't duck far enough, going flat on the ground would leave him open, and there was no room to sidestep. He bent back, his torso practically parallel to the ground. The blast passed inches above his face.

His bending put him at eye-level with Jin, who was on the ceiling and about to launch himself straight down. Hines' eyes widened as Jin rocketed towards him; he had no time to dodge as Jin brought his fist back.

Had Jin not used Zetsu, or Hines not used Nen to protect his head, the damage to Hines' skull would not have been too dissimilar from the effect of stepping on a pane of glass. As it was, the blow was still enough to give a man's descendents a headache. Hines' head smashed into the ground, teeth flying from his mouth as Jin's fist hit home.

Jin stood up, looking at the barely-conscious Hines, whose head was now in a decent-sized crater.

"We pass?"

Hines gurgled something that sounded vaguely like "congratulations" and shakily pointed him towards the door the others who had succeeded were standing by and watching. Most of them were trembling in fear.

Jin smiled and gave his teammates high-fives as Hines lost consciousness.

"Huh," said Arozin. "Do you think we should call for somebody?"

Number of Remaining Competitors: 55

Eliminated: 281


	5. Chapter 5: Who Hunts the Hunters?

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Ch. 5: Who Hunts the Hunters?

The remaining 55 combatants were led out to a small landing pad, where a decent-sized airship was waiting. They were ushered aboard. As they looked around the interior, a cheery voice came over the loudspeaker.

"It is approximately two hours to the site of the next test. Please make yourselves comfortable. There are snacks and drinks near the cockpit. Enjoy yourselves!"

Jin's group settled down near the rear. Arozin once again meditated while Helena and Jin pulled out their reading materials.

Jin could not concentrate on his book. He was too busy mentally going through everything he saw in the previous test. Two fighters had stuck out in his eyes.

The first one had used what appeared to be a simple warhammer. Hines had intended to catch the hammer when the fighter had attacked. Somehow, the hammer still managed to hit Hines in the side. It was as if it had just phased right through the hand. Even with Gyo, the attack was too quick to understand. He was definitely worth investigating.

The second one was significantly more frightening. He wore a mask and a large cloak, to where no part of his body was exposed. He never even spoke. When he had stepped up to fight Hines, he did not appear to move. A cut, apparently for no reason, opened up on Hines' cheek. It was so fast that it was impossible to determine how it had happened. Even Hines seemed shocked. The fighter had just walked over to where the others were standing, with Hines speechless.

Jin decided to take a quick nap. The next test would probably be one of endurance.

As soon as he closed his eyes, however, he heard a scream. He ran towards the cockpit to find a gruesome sight.

The source of the screaming was a man currently in one of the most painful submission holds Jin had ever seen. The masked fighter was gripping the man's arms just below the shoulders and had his feet planted on his back, near the base of the neck. The fighter, on his back, was pulling on the arms, using his legs to amplify the force to the point that the arms were currently out of their sockets. Snapping could be heard; the man's tendons and muscles were coming apart, with the bones soon to follow.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HELP ME!!" the victim screamed as he saw Jin.

"Quiet," replied a low voice. The masked man had finally spoken. "This man was attempting to steal from me. I though he would be less inclined to try again once those greedy little hands of his were gone. And why stop at the hands?" Though his face was hidden, it was fairly obvious that he was smirking.

He continued the assault. Jin pulled out his scythe and held it at the man's neck.

"Kill him, I kill you," he said coolly. The man being attacked cheered

"Bless you! I'll do everything I can to pay you back! Thank you so mu-!"

"You can take his arms off, though."

The attacked man's eyes widened. A small laugh was heard from behind the attacker's mask. The masked fighter pulled with renewed vigor, his victim's screams increasing exponentially in volume as his arms began to separate from his torso. With a gut-wrenching snap, both arms came off simultaneously.

Jin was surprised that his eardrums remained intact after the piercing shriek that emanated from the newly-disabled examinee. Luckily for everyone's hearing, however, the man passed out immediately afterwards. Jin removed his scythe from the attacker's neck and started tearing off scraps of his shirt to use as tourniquets. He was surprised when the two arms were tossed down on top of the man's inert body.

"Let's see if these people can put our greedy friend back together," quipped the man.

Jin, having managed to stop the bleeding, brought up the scythe and menaced the masked examinee with it.

"What's your name, asshole?"

The man just snorted.

"If you must know, it's Tygin."

"Get the hell out of my sight."

Tygin bowed and walked towards the rear.

Jin looked back at the mangled fighter. One of his contacts had sent him a picture of him just before the exam; he had a small bounty on him, a couple of robbery charges. It was a private bounty, put out by the owner of some store the man had robbed, so it made sense that he managed to slip through and take the exam.

"Eh, at least he didn't ask for 'undamaged'…"

Yay, graphic violence!

Some reviews would be appreciated, even if they're just telling me that I suck, or that Jin is a Mary-Sue, or that Tygin is a Hisoka rip-off (okay, you caught me there). Anything would be good.

Or am I going to have to stick in some shounen-ai before people care about this story?


	6. Chapter 6: Welcome to the Jungle

A

A.K.A. The Obligatory Origin Story

The Association members on board the airship had arranged for some medics to be at the landing site to patch up the new amputee. They had also agreed to keep him in custody and allow Jin to claim the bounty on him. As the airship touched down, Jin thought about how he had gotten to where he was.

He was born twenty-six years prior to the exam. His parents were employees in the Hunters Association, though neither was a Hunter. They filed paperwork. They were middle-class, living in a decent-sized home in York Shin. Jin had had no aspirations of being a Hunter and attended primary school like any other child.

At the age of six, he was teased at his school for being overweight. He took the insults to heart and, instead of doing the normal thing for an overweight child to do (crying into his candy bowl), he dedicated himself to getting as fit and strong as possible. In a few months, he was in excellent shape, better than the bullies. He continued training and eventually convinced his parents to let him join a judo dojo at the age of eight. After a year of learning, he became dissatisfied with judo's near-total focus on defense and incapacitation instead of pure combat and decided to incorporate strikes and painful submission holds into his arsenal. At ten, he was a force to be reckoned with, and started participating in youth tournaments.

After several victories, he encountered a seemingly average boy just older than he was in a city-wide tournament. Jin was confident of a victory, but was immediately struck down on his first attack. As Jin tried to regain his composure, the boy laughed at him and told him that Jin could never hope to defeat his Nen.

Furious at his loss, Jin spent several days learning everything he could about Nen, mostly from high-ranking associates of his parents. The very concept of it angered him to no end; he had devoted his life to becoming faster and stronger, and here was an easy way for anyone to be stronger than him. He decided to learn it for himself after several more defeats at the hands of the boy.

The nature of someone's Nen is determined by many factors, and Jin's hatred of this apparent "easy way out" had a profound effect on his Nen. After having his shouko opened by a member of the Hunters Association, Jin took the water test and discovered that he was a specialist. He did not ascertain the exact nature of it until his next conflict with his rival. Jin caught one of the boy's punches and noticed something interesting: observing the blow with Gyo (which the Association member had taught him) revealed that as soon as the fist entered the range of Jin's aura, almost all of the Nen in the fist was directed back towards the rest of the boy's body, decreasing the punch's force exponentially. Though he ended up losing the fight anyway, Jin was intrigued. Despite his best efforts to eliminate all traces of his opponents' Nen, his training could only disperse a limited amount of Nen. He then heard that self-imposed contracts would increase the power of Nen. After much consideration, he came to an idea.

He would forbid himself from using Nen to amplify ANY of his abilities (aside from Gyo). This contract changed the fundamental nature of his Nen; any Nen-charged body part that entered the radius of his aura (which he trained to increase using En) would have the Nen in it dissipate, robbing it of all extra power. In addition, manifested items would vanish and manipulated items would lose their abilities on contact with his aura. His subsequent meetings with his rival would be one-sided thrashings as Jin destroyed him again and again. Jin would continue to strengthen his body, obtaining huge strength and speed.

At eighteen, Jin elected not to go to college after graduating high school. He took public bounties and discovered that he had a knack for finding those who didn't wish to be found. He got familiar with many people in positions of power and soon had a steady stream of contacts. He officially started his own business at twenty and had been working since.

Thanks to his ability, those who exclusively relied on Nen were easily beaten, but Jin was worried. He knew one fundamental flaw in his ability and trained to eliminate it by pushing his body to its limit. Tygin worried him; from what Jin had seen, Tygin could possess such an ability.

Jin's reminiscing ended when the airship landed. As the examinees exited, they were greeted by the sight of an enormous jungle. As they murmured amongst themselves, a tall woman stepped in front of them.

"Welcome to the second test. I'm Claire, and I'll be the examiner. Now, as you have likely guessed, your first task after completing this exam is to head to East Goruto to aid our fighters there. Wishing no offense to you all, there are certain enemies that we know of that are considerably stronger than any of you. Therefore, you will have to know how and when to flee. Your second test is…"

She pointed to the forest.

"To be hunted for one week."

Yay, origin story!

Brownie points for whoever guesses the weakness (hint: it has to do with physics).

Some reviews would be nice.


	7. Chapter 7: Hide and Seek

Kudos to CherubFlame for correctly guessing Jin's weakness

Kudos to CherubFlame for correctly guessing Jin's weakness!

Just FYI, Gon's dad is named Ging. Don't worry, Jin's not him.

Now that I have reviews, I am motivated to continue! Hooray!

…God, I'm an attention whore…

Ch. 7: Most Dangerous Game

The examinees began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Are we hunting each other?" asked Tygin from the rear. The anticipation in his voice was obvious. Claire shook her head.

"While it would be a good test of your skills, it would not train you for the right conditions. Instead…"

She snapped her fingers, summoning a group of five men, each with a cocky grin.

"You will be trying not to be got by these guys. I must warn you, we picked out the meanest sunsabitches we could find out of our organization. If they get to you, they have free reign."

Several of the examinees began to visibly tremble, while Tygin looked unhappy with the test.

"This time, however," Claire continued, "we will be adding a bit of a twist."

She held up what appeared to be a blank credit card.

"Each of these five men is carrying one of these. Should you or the group you are in somehow manage to procure it and hold on to it 'till the end of the test, you will automatically pass and be granted your Hunter's license. You guys get a two hour head start. GO!"

The examinees sprinted into the forest, Jin staying close to his companions. As they ran and looked for a suitable place to rest later that night, they discussed their strategy.

"Should we go for the cards or try to wait it out?" wondered Arozin.

"If we do go for the cards, we should wait until the end of the week. If we go any sooner, another team'll try to take whatever we get," replied Helena.

Jin shook his head.

"They're trying to get us to practice a careful, coordinated strike against superior foes, the situation we would encounter on Goruto. I don't think we'd stand a chance against these guys without catching them completely off-guard. Since they're hunting us, they'll be at least somewhat prepared no matter when we try to strike. Our best bet is to stick it out, run from them in case of conflict, and fight only one at a time if combat is necessary."

His two comrades nodded. It made sense. After further discussion, they agreed on a spot to camp. They split up and ran until nightfall, when they converged on the spot. None of the three had seen the Hunters in pursuit.

They each took turns on night watch. Each day, one would go out looking for food and water while two remained to tend the camp. They switched camp each day, running throughout the forest until they found a suitable place. There were no encounters until the fifth day.

It was Helena's turn to forage. As she came into the camp, Jin looked her over with Gyo to check for any Nen markers. He found one.

"SHIT!"

He grabbed Helena and used his Nen's ability to dispel the mark, but it had been on for too long.

"Oi! You two, bolt! I'll meet you back here in an hour! GO!"

The second the two were out of sight, a single man burst into the camp. He saw that Jin was alone and paused.

"How'd ya get rid of the mark? Where's the girl?"

Jin slowly lowered himself into a fighting position.

"Ah, well. I heard ya shout. She'll be back in an hour. I can have my fun after I kill you."

He burst forward with surprising speed, leading into a powerful right straight. Jin grabbed the offending fist, slammed his hand into the man's elbow, and tossed him over his shoulder. As he crashed into the ground, Jin, still holding on to the arm, fell back and began to pull on the arm.

The man grunted in pain as his arm began to slowly leave its socket. Without warning, however, he flexed his trapped arm, bringing his whole body around and putting all of his weight into a punch to Jin's gut. Jin groaned and released the captive limb. Both men got back to their feet, Jin more slowly.

Jin slowed his breathing and thought. He had not used his Nen during the assault in an attempt to ascertain the man's abilities. He saw now that it would be necessary; the man was strong as an ox with his Nen. Jin undid Zetsu and attacked with a flurry of blows. The first was a kick to the head. His opponent was fast enough to get his arm up and pour Nen into it. The Nen went right out of the limb as Jin's foot approached. The impact shattered the man's right arm like glass. The man barely had time to shriek in pain before he was caught with a right hook to the ribs and a left to the jaw. He crumpled under the onslaught. A right leg sweep put him on his back. Jin was about to finish it with a shot to the temple when the man rolled out of the way. He got up unsteadily, leaking blood out of several orifices.

"You…liddle…bastard," he groaned, the words barely recognizable thanks to his shattered jaw.

He came at Jin, all pretense of strategy lost as he flailed wildly. Still, it was difficult for Jin to dodge every random blow, and he caught several minor ones before seeing his chance.

As the man aimed a kick at Jin's midsection, Jin jumped over the leg and flipped, slamming his feet down onto his opponent's shoulders and wrapping them around his neck. He planted his hands on the ground and brought his legs to his torso, slamming the man's head down into the ground in a classic frankensteiner. Keeping his feet wrapped around his opponent's neck, he grabbed the man's legs above the knee and curled, pulling his head and legs in two different directions. The man screamed as he was being pulled part.

"How about a bet, you bastard?! What goes first, your legs, your torso, or your head?! Guess right, and you die painlessly!" Jin shouted with obvious glee.

The man may have responded, but if he did, it was hard to tell from his screaming. Jin kept pulling.

_Snap_


End file.
